International Students: The Case For Refining Their Visa Regime

Summary

1. The Tier 4 student visa should be divided into three visas, one for each type of study: University, Further Education, and English Language. This would allow for a better understanding of the international student sector and for greater flexibility in entry requirements that properly reflects the different risks that exist in each part of the sector.

Introduction

2. During the Labour years net migration increased dramatically to levels never before experienced; workers, students and family migrants migrated to the UK in the hundreds of thousands. The system was also increasingly chaotic. The public saw large inflows of migrants, backlogs of asylum claims and Home Secretary after Home Secretary sacked following the latest immigration crisis. The public opposed the level of immigration that was being experienced, understanding the consequences of an inflow of nearly four million foreign migrants on public service provision and community cohesion. There was virtually no confidence in the system.

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